I would not EVER recommend one of these for three major reasons, let alone the moral reasons.

1. No matter how "well trained" the dog is claimed to be, all it takes is for something on the other side of the fence to be more reinforcing than the shock is punishing. Animal control picks up dogs still wearing their shock collars all the time. Not to mention, the fence can turn off if there's a power outage.

2. The system can malfunction, shocking the dog endlessly until you notice.

3. Dogs are associative learners. All it takes is the dog getting too close to the fence when children or other dogs walk by for your dog to associate the shock with children or other dogs and thus, he can become aggressive towards them. This happens very often. Ginger was attacked thanks to this being the case with my neighbor's dog. Their dogs keep getting out of their shock fencing as well.

It's a very poor substitute for a real fence. It's not safe. Even if it does succeed in keeping your dog in, it doesn't keep others out.

If you don't like the look of a fence or the price, you can get green chain link. It pretty much disappears against the green of the grass. Much better than shocking your dog.

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The Following 5 Users Say Thank You to msminnamouse For This Useful Post:

The Invisible fence,will not keep any other animal out, They are not worth a crap, spend the money on a real fence, keeps your baby safe,& where they need to be, and other things that might hurt, or kill your dog, OUT!

The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to Abbe gails Mom For This Useful Post:

Thanks for the detailed reply. We are not allowed to have fencing in our community which is why I was thinking about the invisible fence. Given the information you provided, I will probably not do it. Thanks again.

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Nili, proud mama of UKC Ch. Bijou's 24 Karat, CGC

The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Marcoislandmom For This Useful Post:

I used the PetSafe Wireless radio invisible fence at $300 because I have a Lab-husky that would escape from any fenced yard that was not "husky proof" i.e. 8' with a 2' ciment base. When I moved the yard was fenced but not "husky proof" so I decided to use the PetSafe invisible fence until we had it fixed. I hated the idea of giving a shock but it was better then chaining her. I have to say the training was easy and not treumatic at all but she is a bulldozer, I would never use it on Sushi.

It was so convenient that we have neglected to “husky proof” the fence and one day she escaped. When we found her the new batteries in her collar were dead so I called the company to get replacement. They respond saying that my dog could have figure out how to “kill” the batteries by standing close enough to the invisible fence for long periods of time until the warning beep stops so they can cross without having a shock. Smart breed dogs usually do figure this out but they don't tell you before you buy the product!

I put new batteries in and check her by the window and she did exactly what the vendor had told me. She stand at about 2 feet from the invisible fence for about 15 minutes than got bored and did something else then went back. The next day she did the same thing and the following days to. It took her about 4-5 days to “kill” the batteries and then she start digging under the fence to escape.

I am really surprise you are not allowed to have fencing in your community, what do other dog owners do?

I imagine they just take their dogs on walks or put them on tie outs. Again with tie outs, it's not stopping others from coming into your yard. But I'd use one for supervised yard time, even if you stand at the window while the dog does their business. I would also use tie outs in combination with a real fence for escape prone dogs.

When my husband and I were engaged last year and looking for a house, we came across lots of areas where fences are not allowed. Most people just use invisible fences and I got some strange looks from my real estate agent when I was all, "Ohhhh...bummer, nope this house won't work" because I wasn't allowed to put up a fence. We did end up finding a house in an area that allows fences... that already had a fenced in backyard.

Now, this is obviously different from already living somewhere that doesn't allow fencing! But, I thought I'd explain my reasoning for going so far as to choose my house based on a physical fence being a necessity, and an invisible fence not being an option, because it might help you understand why I don't think that invisible fences are adequate.

Reasons why an invisible fence would never work for me:

*I have an intact stud dog.
*I have no doubt my companion girl would endure the pain of a shock if it meant chasing a deer, squirrel, or a dropped sandwhich.
*I want to feel comfortable leaving my dogs outside for an hour to play without having to wonder if the "invisible" fence is actually containing my pets and without worrying if other animals are coming into my yard.

*When I go for walks, I absolutely CANNOT STAND how all of the invisible fenced dogs CHARGE full speed at my dogs and me as we walk along the sidewalk.

*I've seen way, way too many invisible fenced dogs wandering around outside their yard.

All in all, I do not feel that an invisible fence should be used as a replacement for a physical fence. I can see how it might be something to consider but only for supervised use. Just IMO. I don't think it should be thought of as a "fence".

The Following User Says Thank You to CharismaticMillie For This Useful Post:

I think it is cruel to shock a dog into staying in your yard. Plus the batteries go dead and you don't know it. Some dogs go right through it to get what they want. I know all those things have already been said but I agree. Plus I never never never leave my dogs out by themselves. Coyotes, hawks, any number of creatures can get them or evn just other dogs coming into the yard. Could you do one of those fence pens that are like 6x6? At least they would have a potty place and a little yard.

We had an electric wire around our fence many years ago because our lab would pull off the wood slats on the fence to go join the neighbors bar b que. Their dog, a miniature poodle mix, would want to come into our yard to play with our lab. She would look at the wire and start yelping BEFORE she went under. She would gather up her courage and dive under, yelping the whole time, but wanted in our yard more than she didn't want to get shocked. We finally just disconnected the wire and let the dogs go back and forth between the yards. If they were having a bar b que they would either invite us or call and ask us to put Max in his crate, lol.

I agree with the comments about the invisible fence -- although I don't have a yard anyway. But, on a similar topic, I was taking Sunny for a walk (always on leash) and a larger mixed chow type dog came rushing at us and literally in Sunny's face (and much bigger than Sunny). Luckily for me, I have a poodle who does not care one way or the other about dogs, so he ignored him. HOWEVER, since my last poodle, Jake, was attacked by an offleash doberman, I immediately pulled Sunny in on the leash and yelled to the owner, "GET YOUR DOG ON A LEASH" (the owner was 1/4 of the block away) and she replied, "He is on a leash; an electric leash." Gimme a break. Surely did not stop the dog from getting in Sunny's face and well, another dog may have reacted differently. I am sure she must have been referring to an e-collar or something similar, but since there is a leash law where I live, doubt it would pass.